Soldier Game
by Homura Made Me Do This
Summary: Sometimes there's no need for a proper meeting to fall for someone. Future!AU. By AU I mean really AU. NicoMaki. KotoUmi. NozoEli. TsubaHono and RinPana as background pairings.
1. Prologue

**A/N : **I'm too deep in this shit to get out. Here you go, a multi-chapter future!AU starring the Soldier Game trio as the main characters. I'm still trying to get my mood to continue Day by Day so I figured out I'll do this one first since I got the idea way sooner. For two of the best people I've ever known.

**Disclaimer : **I don't own Love Live! /hands up

* * *

**Prologue**

"So uh… would you like to… you know, at least go out for a lunch with me?" The male doctor scratched the back of his head nervously, eyes casting downward.

"One last time, Aoyama-san," a particular redhead clenched her fists inside the pockets of her pure white coat, refusing to show her irritation, "I have no interest in this sort of thing."

"But Nishikino-san—"

"_Absolutely_ zero interest," Maki swore she could feel a vein pop up on the side of her throbbing forehead, "Off you go."

The man looked at her as if all his hopes were crushed into dust; his hopes of getting along with the inheritor of the hospital he's working in. He clicked his tongue as he turned around and walked away from the woman with heavy steps, going out from her office with such ticked off look in his eyes. His intentions were crystal clear to Maki since she had experienced this for more than she ever cared to count. Almost every single one of her co-workers asked her out—and none of them were accepted; what did they even expect to begin with when all they sought for was her money?

"So full of bullshit," she grunted as she nearly slammed her fist too hard onto her messy desk. Standing up, Maki kicked her chair away in frustration as she made her way to a nearby window, opening it rather wide to let some fresh air in. More like she needed to get rid of the strong scent of cigarette—yet she lit another one, unable to resist the urge to soothe her stressed out mind. It was a bad habit, sure, but she had no other choice. Work piling up, sudden meeting in the early morning, forgetting her lunchbox and worst of all, she didn't have the chance to visit her father's grave.

Her morning routine got messed up, and now in the afternoon, one stubborn doctor suddenly came up to her and asked her out. She wasn't thinking that it would be a smooth day or that there wouldn't be anything else that might disturb her peace, she was just sick of all the hollow confessions. Gold diggers were everywhere in her family's hospital and she should have known _better_.

Hoping that the news might entertain her in a way, she turned on the small television at the far corner of the room and went from one channel to another before a certain scene took her interest. A flashy-looking girl, with pink-themed attire and seemingly-glimmering red eyes was being interviewed—she kept a wide smile on her face, chuckling at the interviewer's statement every now and then. Maki took note of how her twintails would move around whenever the girl shook her head—hold on, why was she suddenly interested?

_"Nico Nico Nii!"_

Maki's eye twitched. Okay, maybe not so interested—

_"A Nico Nico smile, straight to your heart!"_

Goddamn her slow reflexes, why couldn't she just turn off the—

_"Yazawa Nico-nico gave you a smile!"_

Well, it _was_ kind of cute, but—

_"Call me Nico-nii! Love, Nico!"_

Maki finally had gathered enough consciousness to turn the television off before throwing the remote away in annoyance, plucking the cigarette out from her mouth and blew the smoke away, letting it drift with the wind outside. She scratched her head and made her already messy hair get even messier, with red strands sticking out here and there. It was _hard_ to get that catchphrase out of her head despite the fact that it was her first time hearing such a sickeningly addicting thing. She put off the cigarette, stashing it away into the ashtray as she placed a hand on her forehead, "What the hell was that? I don't get it."

* * *

Dark blue tresses danced with the gentle breeze as Sonoda Umi casually walked through the crowded streets of Akihabara; headset on, aviator sunglasses hiding her light brown irises, and a beanie covering the top of her head from the sun's insane heat. She could feel some people looking her way—mostly girls in their late teens. She knew it would be risky to go through this busy district during the daylight. At least during nighttime, the darkness could help with covering the rest of her face. She never appeared in the television, of course, but there were plenty of teen magazines that came over to interview her about her achievement.

Never before she thought she had such an impressive talent in writing a romance-centric novel.

It was a crazy step, she thought. But an even crazier friend of hers had suggested her to write such a thing—and she _actually_ did it because said friend was so eager to read it. That friend, Honoka, was the first one to read it. It took some time before she confronted Honoka about how her novel suddenly became so popular because her publisher wasn't even a famous one to begin with. And Honoka told her about how she made her close friend, Kira Tsubasa—the freaking _leader_ of the famous idol group A-RISE—read the novel. Tsubasa then recommended the novel to her friends and that was pretty much how the news got spread. She didn't even know how Honoka could be so close with the idol but she didn't feel the need to ask because it felt like anything's possible for her ginger-haired friend.

As much as she appreciated the amount of support she had begun to earn since that day, it was rather troublesome that she had so many eyes staring at her as if she was some rare creature or something. It wasn't that she hated to be looked at, but being noticed by so many people, especially young and cute girls hit her anxiety up to eleven. She hoped she had brought a scarf along but it would make her look stupid—who would wear such a thing in this blazing heat?

In her trance, she didn't notice a hurried figure approaching her in an impressive speed. She might be a trained archer during her days in high school, even now she would still go to the archery range and do a few practices despite her busy schedule, but the crowd blocked her view and the smaller figure inevitably crashed against her. And so, Umi wasn't ready. Umi lost her balance. THUD. Umi fell.

"Wah!"

"Ugh!"

… With the figure on top of her.

She swore that the first thing she felt was slight embarrassment due to the looks she received because her sunglasses were knocked away. Some people were shocked, and she could hear a few squeals from behind her. This being Umi, she waved it off for a bit and with a panicked voice she said to the unmoving… girl on top of her stiffening body, "A-are you okay?"

"Huh?" the sandy-haired girl looked around and met Umi's gaze, her nose touching Umi's as she raised her head up—she yelped and got herself off the dark-haired girl, gathering up her scattered belongings, "Wah I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Uh n-no, it's fine, it's fine," Umi, who was equally flustered quickly helped the girl to gather all the… cloths? A tailor, perhaps? Either way, she picked up all the things in her reach and waited as the girl frantically stuffed everything into her bag—it sure looked like she was in such a hurry. She handed out everything she had in her hands when—

THUNK.

"Bwah!"

"Argh!"

The top of the shorter girl's head made contact with Umi's chin—in an obviously unfriendly way. It hurt, yet Umi stayed in her position and let none of the girl's belongings fall off her hands. Some people were starting to giggle and she knew that a lot of schoolgirls were hanging around them by now—she might have to prepare for a dash after this. The other girl swiftly took all of the materials from Umi's hands without looking up—probably afraid she would knock her head onto something again.

Once her hands were free, Umi reached out and put her sunglasses back on, trying to act as if nothing ever happened even though anyone could just see her trembling fists. She tried to play cool by brushing off a speck of dust on the girl's shoulder, "You're really okay?"

The girl looked up—brown eyes that were a shade brighter than hers, evident blush on her cheeks, hair that framed her face perfectly—the throbbing she felt on her chin suddenly vanished without a trace when the girl said, "I'm totally okay! Thank you for the help, uhh…"

Umi looked around and whispered her name to the girl's ears—she wasn't even _thinking _about it, for God's sake, "Sonoda Umi."

"Sonoda-san! I'm Minami Kotori!" the girl nervously said out loud and Umi could see the blush reaching up to her ears, "Thank you very much! And I'm terribly sorry for the trouble!"

Fidgets, twiddling fingers—then she ran off to the direction where Umi came from.

That… escalated quickly? But at least she got the girl's name… wait, was that her purpose to begin with? And did she actually lean so _close_ to another girl's face just now? All the realization hit her so fast that she actually became stiff for a few seconds, scanning through the crowd silently before dashing off to the direction she was heading to earlier. She was confused about what to prioritize, but the first thing her reflexes did was dragging her away from the massive amount of people. Their eyes were making her anxious, not to mention the fact that literally ninety percent of them was her… fans or whatever they would call themselves as. There were yells of disappointment behind her but at least she could set herself free after taking several turns. She caught a glimpse at her chin when she passed by a huge reflective window—it was a little red, wow. Still not as red as her cheeks, though.

Sure, her chin wasn't throbbing anymore.

But she swore that throbbing had moved down to her chest when Minami Kotori looked up to her with those eyes. And she wondered _why_.

* * *

She felt like an acrobat sometimes—juggling bottles and doing some tricks that would impress her customers. There weren't even a lot of them recently because people would look down on her simply due to her being a female bartender; people preferred the male ones somehow. However, she was grateful with all the people that got interested to grab some drinks in her bar—even if it stayed this way. She could still pay the rent with this many people. Her little sister had been working part-time to help her with the bills too, so it never bothered her at all.

It was good enough that she could listen to new stories every day.

"Ayase!" a man called out to her—her regular customer.

"Yeah?" she stopped her juggles and looked over at the man, "You want a refill?"

"Nah, that chick over there, bro."

Bro.

_Bro._

_**Bro.**_

She almost threw the bottle at the half-drunk man instead of putting it back into the shelf, yet she did the latter anyways because she knew he didn't say it on purpose, though her forced smirk was rather hard to maintain because she had reminded him… probably more than a hundred times not to refer to her as something far too… _manly_. Gripping tight on the white cloth she'd use to wipe the glasses and cups with, Ayase Eli asked for more _details_, "What chick and where?"

"There," he pointed to the far end of the bar, right at the hooded woman who was busy shuffling some cards—most likely tarot cards—and seemingly lost in her thoughts. Eli couldn't get a good look at her face, yet she could see a faint, satisfied smile on the woman's lips when she picked up a particular card. What she didn't expect was the woman looking up to meet her gaze and _now_ she could see the wonderful features of the mysterious woman. The turquoise orbs, side-braided violet hair and charming smile were all summed up in one word she had never ever used to describe anyone before.

"Harasho…"

"I knew you'd like the view," the man laughed as sparkles were beginning to appear in Eli's eyes, "Why don't you go there and ask her if she'd like something? I don't think she'd ordered anything since she got in."

"Are you _nuts_?" Eli looked at him weirdly—the drastic change in her eyes made the man flinch for a little. That was one hell of a different treatment, "I'd look like a creep! She just caught me staring and you want me to come up to her? You'd better go find that missing screw in your head soon or else—"

She heard two claps and she raised her head up to look at the direction the sound came from—it was the woman. She could see her face far more clearly now that she had the dark purple cloak's hood down. The smile was still there, and she took a sharp breath before taking her small notebook—what could possibly make her feel so nervous? It was usually _her_ that made _people_ nervous no matter how friendly her job required her to be. Nervous as she was, the man patted her shoulder as a means of support.

Every step she took towards the eccentric woman made her palms turn even colder than they were before. Stopping right in front of the table where said woman was sitting on, Eli beamed at her, hoping that she could fight off the nervousness the moment she looked back into those unusual green eyes, "Good evening, ma'am."

"Ah, evening," the woman replied softly—her voice nearly choked the life out of Eli, "Don't be so formal. Aren't bartenders usually casual to their guests?"

"Well…" she trailed off her words, smiling sheepishly.

Great. Just great.

"Do you have parfaits here, Ayase?"

Dear _God_ her name sounded so good with that voice, "Yes, ma'am—I mean uhh…"

"Nozomi," the woman said with a chuckle, "Toujou Nozomi, but it's Nozomi for you."

"… N-Nozomi," Ayase Eli had _never_ stuttered in her life, "Parfait, yeah?"

"Parfait. No caramels, please," Nozomi's voice only sounded sweeter and sweeter—this isn't good, "So… is your name Ayase or…?"

"Eli!" she awkwardly called out to her own name, "Ayase… Eli. It's Eli… for you."

"It's only Ayase on your nametag," Nozomi pointed at the small nametag on the blonde's left chest, her smile turning playful.

"… I don't want people to randomly call me by my given name," the bartender looked away, scratching the back of her neck—by now she didn't even care whether or not she looked awkward. It felt as if there was no point in trying to hide it to begin with, "Anything else?"

"It's a pleasure then, Elicchi," Nozomi's smile grew wider when Eli snapped her head to look back at her again, "And I'll just take a parfait, nothing else."

Eli couldn't believe just how _unfamiliar_ it felt for someone to be so kind to her because she'd normally come off as unsociable yet a good listener at the same time because of her short replies and her constant waving off of the customers' stories despite the truth that she _was_ listening to them all along. She acted like a personal diary for all the people who'd come in, and all their stories would intrigue her. She simply didn't know what to respond most of the time as much as she wanted to. Still, those people would come again for a sip or two and shared their experiences again—perhaps it was all they needed; someone to listen to them and something to help them down their troubles in an instant.

"You don't mind, hmm?" Nozomi questioned, "That nickname, I mean."

"I think it's alright," Eli smirked, trying a little too hard to get her charm back but anyone could see just how much of a fruitless attempt it was, "Wait for a bit, okay?"

"No worries," Nozomi nodded calmly, still smiling as she picked up the card she had seen earlier, "… Oh, Elicchi?"

"Yeah?" Eli looked back again, halting her steps and squinted when Nozomi flipped the card for her to see—The… Star? "Uhh…?"

"Next time if you wanted to talk…" Nozomi giggled, "… don't hesitate to come up to me. Staring is a little rude."

Her breath hitched, and before she knew it, she was already slumped over on one of the stools in the bar; the quickest walk she ever did. Well with her heart beating abnormally fast, cheeks flushed in a manner that made her feel like she could just explode anytime soon, Nozomi's voice ringing in her ears over and over; could she help herself? Even the half-drunk man, who was still encouraging her until a few minutes ago, was baffled at how flustered she was. He was about to ask her how it went, but the obvious blush on Eli's face already explained everything to him.

Well, it wouldn't be a problem to make the parfait in less than ten minutes—she was rather skilled at it thanks to all the hard work she had been doing without anyone else to help her in the bar. Not that she was in a rush or anything, but parfaits would taste better if they were served as soon as they were made. The problem was what she should do _afterwards_. She would have to serve it and that would mean she would have to chat for a bit more. There was a big urge deep inside her heart to talk more with the fortuneteller, yet she wondered how to exactly do it without showing her gawkiness the least bit.

… She didn't even know whether to be thankful or regretful that she was tending to the whole establishment all on her own.

* * *

Late night, Umi traveled down the road that she had known all too well—the road that would take her to her other safe haven. She would spend her time to relax in the public library for some time until night falls and head for her friend's workplace, chilling there until midnight. She had prepared her schedule so that nothing would pile up too much on her desk—she had written her next novel halfway through, after all. Maybe listening to her friends would give her some sort of inspiration even though they were more of a supporter on her back instead of the source of her ideas.

She wrapped her fingers around the cold doorknob and twisted it, opening the door and greeted her favorite companions, "Good evening."

"Thank _goodness_, Sonoda Umi," an irritated voice responded to her greeting—she immediately knew who it was and prepared herself for a sudden strong smell of cigarette, "This lump of embarrassment has been going on and on about a particular psychic whom I'm doubting the existence of."

"Evening, Umi," Eli's welcoming voice was a complete contrast to Maki's, causing a jarring difference in her perceiving senses, "And she exists, Maki! You should have gotten here a little sooner—she left just a few minutes before you barged in."

"Care to enlighten me?" Umi sat down next to Maki, cutting off whatever argument that was about to come out from the redhead's mouth while fanning away the smoke that was coming towards her face, "I'm a little lost."

Maki faced Umi, placing her cigarette on the ashtray as she blew the smoke to her side—as rude as she could be at times, she knew how to respect her good friends, "This friend of ours is _swooning_ over a psychic—"

"—Fortuneteller," Eli corrected, earning a glare from the young doctor.

"Well, _fortuneteller_. And she has been going around and around the same topic about her for half an hour straight," Maki gestured to her wristwatch, "I can even predict what she's going to say that it's scaring me."

"But I'm serious, she was just so…" Eli tried to register the words one by one in her head, though none of them could properly explain her first impression, "… _wow_."

"See? You're just making yourself look like a fool, Eli," Maki sighed in exasperation, downing a whole small glass of Vodka, "You're way too all over her for your first meeting."

"Crush on first sight?" Umi asked, nodding in gratitude as Eli placed a cup of warm milk in front of her—her usual order.

The blonde smiled at the two, refilling Maki's glass—she knew that the only way to calm down the grumpy redhead is to make her drink more, "You can put it that way. I got the feeling that it'll be something more than a mere crush, though. She said she'll come back again tomorrow."

"That's nice," Umi took a sip from her cup, cherishing the feeling of warmth going down her dry throat, "Say, I met this girl earlier…"

"Oh my _God_, not you too, Umi," Maki put a palm on her face.

"Look at the bright side; at least you're not going to listen to my story again," Eli gave her an annoyed look, cocking head to the side, "Go on, Umi."

Seeing Maki so stressed out over it made her wonder; was Eli's repetitive story really that bad of a thing? Stories from lovestruck people were usually compelling to her—after all this time of being around Honoka and Tsubasa, romance wasn't something alien to her ears anymore. Though maybe it was just because of Maki's having a bad day—it was rare to see Eli so willing to refill the neurosurgeon's glass without a scold or two. She took a deep breath, brushing the thought aside yet not forgetting to mention it later, "Well, she's cute. It was embarrassing though, because it wasn't… a proper way of meeting someone."

"What, did you just crash into her or something?" Maki asked, raising an eyebrow—looks like someone's interested. A nod from Umi made her sigh for the umpteenth time for today—not so interested, maybe, "I can't believe you guys are so easy to go head over heels for someone you just met."

"I just said she's cute, is all," Umi said, shrugging her shoulders, "She was also pretty clumsy, but not that it's a bad thing."

"I'm sorta glad you don't have much to say about her, unlike a particular someone," Maki peered over to the bartender, rolling her eyes when the latter pouted at her, "Oh well, at the very least you guys provide me with some entertainment."

"So what about you then, Maki?" Umi asked bluntly, picking up the question she had wanted to ask.

"Yeah, tell us," Eli took a seat on the tall stool behind the bar, chewing on a stick of candy, "The only reason I was going on and on was because you refused to tell me about your day earlier. Now that all of us are here, you can't just get away from it anymore."

"Jeez… Good _God_ where to even start?" Maki put off her cigarette, much to Umi's relief, "There was a sudden call in the morning, saying that I had an early meeting, I didn't get the chance to visit Papa's grave, then I forgot my lunchbox, which meant I had to eat in the cafeteria _and _there was another doctor hitting on me."

"Now _that's_ a lot," Eli's icy blue eyes widened at the frustrated doctor, "We'll accompany you if you want to pay a visit your father's grave now."

"No, no. I already did that before coming here, but thanks," Maki's voice softened, "It was like everything's out to piss me off."

"I'm sorry to hear all that," Umi's eyes were filled with sympathy, "But are you feeling calmer now? You seemed like you were holding everything back."

Maki sighed and glanced at her two friends, smiling wryly, "Yeah, I'm alright. The last thing really pushed me off the edge, though—I'm sick of those things. All they want is my money and it makes me want to vomit already."

"You'll find the right one soon. Not all the fishes in the sea are solely seeking for gold," Eli smiled at the youngest female out of the three of them, "You might want to fix that bitter attitude a bit, though. People tend to take you the wrong way for it."

"Eli's right. As much as you don't want to get along with your co-workers, softening up wouldn't hurt, you know?" Umi took another sip, "It's important because you're the head of the hospital."

"Be nicer, but don't let anyone in," Eli summarized her and Umi's point, earning an approving nod from the dark-haired novelist, "Consider it a part of your job."

"Well I'll try, but man…" Maki scratched her head, resting her chin on the table as a luminescent blush appeared on her face—the other two knew all too well that it wasn't because she was drunk since she wasn't a weak drinker, "… What the hell would I do without you two?"

"You're welcome," Eli chuckled, "But that's not an excuse for another refill, alright? You've been drinking more than usual."

"Yeah, and no more of those cigarettes for today," Umi sighed contentedly, "I'm sure you've smoked a lot already at the hospital."

"Not really, Umi," Maki raised her head up, propping her chin with her hand as she placed her elbow on the table, "I kinda stopped at the afternoon."

"What?" the two older women asked at the same time.

"I saw this stupid interview of… an idol, I think? I don't know but she kinda gave off this cutesy vibe… I don't like her style," Maki continued, causing her friends to look at her in slight shock, "And her catchphrase was so goddamn annoying but I couldn't get it out of my head and for some reason I didn't really feel like smoking."

"WHAT?!"

That was when she regretted saying the smallest of details, "… Well… shit."

This would be a long night, though…

… Perhaps she wasn't all that different from her two seniors, after all.

* * *

**A/N : **Well that's all for the prologue. First Chapter would be Maki's chapter. RinPana will play their part there.

Reviews are always appreciated!


	2. Nishikino Maki Part 1

**A/N : **I am alive. Also I'm going to split each Soldiers' chapters into two parts. FYI RinPana is so cute—I'd love to make a standalone story about them if only I have enough headcanons. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites everyone! Particularly you, senpai. I see u. And lots of ai yo for you.

**Disclaimer : **I don't own Love Live! Like, at all omg don't look at me like that.

* * *

**1st Soldier: Nishikino Maki**

**Part 1 **

What would her father say if he could see her right now?

Would he be proud because she had grown up the exact way he wished her to?

Or would he be worried at how she was starting to gradually lose her cheerful side?

She wasn't even sure when or how she had started the bad habit of smoking—all she knew was when she blew the smoke away, the emotional pressure she felt would disappear along with it. Even if it might simply be a temporary effect, she could relax and feel slightly more… content? Though she had no idea how her father could survive during his days as the head doctor without smoking the least bit. Oh, but she remembered she'd find alcoholic drinks inside the fridge at home whenever she'd sneak up to fetch some tomatoes. Maybe drinking was all he needed to chill out after his daily activities, while she… needed both. Thank goodness the drinks at Eli's bar tasted like they came from Heaven itself.

The stillness of her office made her feel as if time had slowed down, cigarette stuck between her red lips. Her eyes scanned through a document, nose scrunching up in disgust as she saw the little footnote—a phone number. Gosh, these people seriously wouldn't give up. It was the same man from yesterday noon, even—the one who completely ruined her mood. If _only_ they were this dedicated to their work instead of chasing her, maybe she could have let some things off her shoulder. She glanced towards the door, making sure that nobody would come in as she took out her lighter and burned the document away to ashes, letting them fall into the trashcan near her desk like blackened snowflakes. Who gives a damn if he had to rewrite it—she could just tell him that he had made way too many errors that she didn't even want to read it.

Looking back at the stack of papers on her desk, she felt a wave of relief knowing that there wasn't much left to do. She leaned back on her chair, casually watching the smoke puffing out from her mouth. Knowing that it wasn't an easy task to manage an entire hospital, her mother had let her be when it comes down to this habit, as concerned as she was at the very beginning.

If she could be honest, she already knew that things would turn out this way; she had predicted that she'd be sick of it in one way or another. She just never wanted to outright admit it. Was it because she simply did all this to fulfill her deceased father's wishes? Did she even have passion for medical studies to begin with? It was stressful, it was difficult, it took time for her to learn, yet she did it anyway—she wanted the old man to look at her proudly from up there. This wasn't the only time Maki doubted herself, and whenever she'd look down at her slender fingers that used to dance on the grand piano's monochromatic keys with ease, she wondered if she had taken the right steps all along.

Yet before she could get any further, the sound of her phone's ringtone washed all the thoughts away.

She took the device from her desk's drawer, picking up the call without bothering to look at the caller's ID—she knew that whoever it was, it must be someone she was close to because… well, they had her number. Placing the cancer stick on the ashtray, Maki mumbled in a bored tone, "Maki speaking."

_"Maki-chan, nya!"_

Too bad she couldn't see the childish spark in her own eyes when she heard the signature 'nya' especially realizing that it was the voice of the friend she met back in high school, and her voice rose in excitement, "Rin!"

_"Yes, it's Rin, nya! Hey, hey, Maki-chan, are you busy?"_

Maki swiftly flipped through the pages of her agenda, grinning slightly when she found out that she had no appointments at all, "No, not really. What's up? You want to hang out?"

_"Yeah! Kayochin's up for it too, nya!" _Rin was no less excited than the neurosurgeon, it would seem—and at the mention of her other friend's name, Maki's grin grew a little wider, _"It's been so long since the last time we met up, so we want to say hi while we don't have much to do at the restaurant, nya."_

"Wow, restaurant?" Maki raised an eyebrow, "You guys have a lot to tell me."

_"Hehe, that's why Rin asked if you were busy! So, how about today during your lunch, nya?"_

"Sure. For the time being, I can take as much time off as I want, after all," Maki sighed, "Not a lot of paperwork left to do."

_"Good, nya! See you at the train station, Maki-chan!"_

"See ya, Rin. Say hi to Hanayo from me," Maki checked her nails as her grin slowly turned to a small smile.

_"Alright, bye Maki-chan!"_

"Bye," she quietly replied as the excited voice she had just heard turned into the disconnected tune.

It was fun while it lasted, maybe? She rolled up her sleeve, checking her wristwatch to see how much time left before lunch—a walk to the station would take about fifteen minutes, so she could just relax, but she figured she should just leave half an hour before lunch. A sigh of frustration escaped her lips as she took the cigarette again, wishing that she could fast forward time. Instead of going back to work, she chose to cool down and turned on the television, searching for the news channel. The sight of another footnote on the topmost paper she had on her desk quickly dragged her mood down, so she might really need this.

She stopped from pressing the button on the remote, focusing on the broadcast of a certain idol's live concert—

_"Nico Nico Nii! Hello everyone! Thank you for coming today, but… I have an unfortunate announcement for all of you…"_

The crowd suddenly died down, supportive shouts turning into questions and audible whispers. Maki frowned at the word 'unfortunate', somehow placing the stick she had in her mouth back into the ashtray as she turned the volume up.

_"… Your idol Nico-nii has to stop for some time. But worry not! It's just a temporary goodbye—I'm not leaving you guys for too long. I'm so, so sorry everyone… but always remember that Nico-nii really, really loves all of you. Before my long hiatus, though, will you guys listen to this one last song from your no.1 idol?"_

It was a wonder how the crowd could change moods so quickly—they sounded very disappointed when their 'Nico-nii' announced her hiatus, and now they were yelling energetically; such a proper sendoff. And she meant that. It touched her, somehow. That petite form on the stage, surrounded by the people that were mad for her, standing so proudly and danced as if she had no burden on her shoulders—so free, so… joyful that she found herself tapping her foot to the beat of the music.

Maybe… just maybe… it wasn't all that bad to watch these kinds of things once in a while.

This would be her last song for some time, after all.

* * *

The train station wasn't as crowded as Maki had expected it to be. Shouldn't there be more people? That would make more sense because it was everyone's lunchtime. She was rather accepting about it, though—it wouldn't be very pleasant if there were way too many people, either. At least it wasn't too quiet. Kind of a blessing that she could get out from that stressful yet home-y private hospital, because outside, she wouldn't have to hold herself back when she wanted to smoke. Or sneak out to the back garden—whichever felt safer for her.

She had gotten herself a drink that might not be as good as any of the drinks back at her friend's bar, but at least she had something to keep her throat fresh. Speaking of that friend, she might dislike it quite a lot when Eli was talking about the fortuneteller, but now she was technically wondering about how the easily-flustered bartender would handle all of it later this evening. She wished she could just go to the bar earlier than usual to witness such a scene. It would be fun to watch that blonde who caught a lot of people's attention way back during college go all embarrassed in front of someone else she barely knew. Nobody was ever able to make Ayase Eli fluster—not even her or Umi.

The three of them met way back in college. Even though they took different majors and were in different years, they ended up getting along with each other thanks to their constant meeting at the library. Umi was the library's regular visitor because she studied Literature, Maki would come over to find herself some peace and read through her awfully thick books, and Eli would simply sit with them because the table was vacant save for the former two, taking along her crafting assignments and finishing them there. At first they were sharing awkward glances, though their curiosity about one another finally made them start small chats every now and then; it was the best way to start their strange friendship, perhaps. Though strange as it was, Maki could only trust those two when it comes down to her personal life and practically all about herself. None of them ever spoke of it out loud, but she knew the feeling was mutual.

She smiled a little—high school and college days were the best she ever had that she actually wished she could go back. Back to the time when going out from her house meant meeting her friends, the people she was safe with, the people… that never tried to get close to her just because of her wealth.

Tossing away the cigarette butt into a nearby trashcan, she squinted at a waving figure that was approaching her at a certain speed, and another one behind said figure coming close slowly. She raised her hand and waved back after realizing who they were, her smile growing wider.

"Maki-chan, nyaaa!" Rin tackled her into a hug—she didn't fall back like she did back in high school now that she was way stronger. She stretched one of her arms out when Hanayo walked quicker to give her a hug too. She really needed this; a big, tight hug from two of her best friends. Umi and Eli rarely gave her hugs, but hugs from them were pretty much special—they were so much warmer. Still, nothing could beat the flow of happiness inside her heart when she finally got her high school friends back in her arms.

"It's been so long, Maki-chan," Hanayo whispered; her voice was still as shaky as ever, though there were more hints of confidence in it by now.

"It's been _forever_," Maki corrected, nuzzling her head into her shy friend's shoulder—she wasn't exaggerating. Back then, they would constantly visit each other, but once they had graduated from their respective colleges, they had been too busy for a small hang out, let alone paying a visit. The last time they met up was about nine months ago, for the New Years' party. All the long days she spent in the hospital really made it feel like forever, and it almost made her crazy. But this feeling was worth it.

She didn't even notice the single tear that came out from the corner of her eye.

* * *

"So you guys have a restaurant of your own now?" Maki's eyes widened, leaning forwards on her seat, "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, and Rin-chan's in charge of the delivery," Hanayo nodded as she smiled at Rin, who was busy eating some ramen, "We've been getting plenty of orders too."

"Thanks to Kayochin's super tasty rice, nya!" Rin wiped her mouth; impressive, she finished the whole bowl in less than five minutes, "Sometimes people would even order for the rice only, nya! We don't have a lot of menus to offer, but the chef said he will try many things to balance out the rice's superb taste, nya!"

"Rin-chan's delivery is top notch too," Hanayo giggled, "The regulars have been giving us plenty of extra tips since we never let the food get cold."

"Kayochin's rice stays tasty whether it's warm or cold, but warm is _way_ better, nya!" Rin exclaimed, grinning at her childhood friend.

"Heehee, it stays warm thanks to Rin-chan's super quick service!" Hanayo returned Rin's grin with a wide smile.

They never changed, Maki thought; still the same childhood best friends that never ceased complimenting each other when it comes down to things they were good at. Even to the smallest things, as far as she could remember. And there were multiple times she would see this little… spark—something that was way beyond platonic. Either it was from Rin or from Hanayo or perhaps both, she never knew but she could definitely _feel_ it going on. She could see the small glances, the tone of their voices that would turn sweeter occasionally when they talked to each other and all the other signs. But currently, the one that emitted the most warmth was the one she had expected least.

Rin.

Those golden orbs would shine whenever Rin looked at Hanayo—brighter than they usually were, remembering the energetic girl she was. Not to mention how her expression would turn very, very affectionate. It was rather easy to notice since the signature cat-smile of hers would turn into a caring one whenever she watched Hanayo do anything. Maki might be a little dense herself, but she was close enough with the two to notice the change in the atmosphere even if it was only a small one.

Maki recalled how she used to be so annoyed by how they were very loving to each other, but over the course of three years she spent with them, it all made sense. Their personality combined would create something flawless. And she had realized that it wasn't annoyance all along; it was envy, because she never had a friend like Rin or Hanayo before.

But hey, at least she got both now—she couldn't be more thankful.

Her attention returned to the two girls in front of her when a familiar ringtone was heard—it wasn't hers, yet she knew it. If she remembered correctly, the only one who would pick such a cheery ringtone was Hanayo. And apparently, she never changed her ringtone because the moment Maki looked at her, the bespectacled girl was looking right at her phone, seemingly surprised by whatever was on her phone's display.

"Ah, umm… sorry Rin-chan, Maki-chan, I have to call a customer," Hanayo said apologetically, "This is important."

"Go on," Maki nodded, "You'd want to call them outside, though. It's kinda noisy in here."

"Oh, is it about the postponed orders, Kayochin?" Rin asked, tilting her head curiously.

"No, no. In fact, it seems like we're going to get another regular, so…" Hanayo smiled in excitement as she stood up and placed her bag on the seat, "… I have to contact them right away through phone call."

She excused herself, holding her phone to her chest like the shy girl she had always been as she rushed through the crowd with mumbled apologies. Hanayo being Hanayo, Maki thought. The relief inside her heart was indescribable after knowing that none of her old friends had changed—not even the least bit except for the fact that they had grown a little more mature. That aside, she knew that whenever the three of them met up, their playful sides would show up occasionally.

Yes, even _Maki_ herself was a child at heart. Who would've expected a grumpy doctor in her late twenties would still visit the gaming arcade and play the games she'd play with her friends back in her school days? And who would've expected her, someone that barely had anyone that could keep her company before high school started, would keep her yearbook inside the drawer of her office and flip through them whenever she felt like seeing her old, innocent self smiling again?

She missed _everything_.

"Hey, umm… Maki-chan?" Rin's soft voice—_oddly_ soft voice snapped her back to reality. She raised an eyebrow as she looked at the orange-haired girl, silently telling the latter that she was listening, "… Does your chest feel strange when you're around Kayochin, nya?"

Maki halted her movements from picking up her cup of coffee, staring at Rin questioningly, "What do you mean with that?"

"W-Well!" Rin was absolutely flustered by now, having to explain further than she thought she needed to, "Like… does it feel a little… fluttery inside, nya?"

"Rin…" Maki frowned at how Rin was fidgeting in her seat, somehow looking far more fragile and delicate than ever, "… Rin, are you okay?"

"Sheesh, nya! Maki-chan, Rin was just asking," Rin puffed her cheeks—perhaps a small motion to loosen herself up, "Rin… Rin feels like that, nya. It's like Rin's heart is about to burst or something and it kinda hurts sometimes but… but it makes Rin happy at the same time."

Maki leaned her back on her seat, a thoughtful look on her face. During these times, she would have preferred to have a cigarette between her lips and relax, but even though Rin and Hanayo already knew about that habit of hers, she didn't want to make them feel uncomfortable with all the smoke. They were okay with it, but she didn't want to risk her friends' health because the effects would definitely be worse on them.

These topics were her weakness because she never had any interest in romance. Except that one novel that Umi wrote—it was _really_ good. Her opinion wasn't biased, of course; she had criticized many of Umi's writings to the point that Eli scolded her to at least praise a little. Perhaps it was because of her high taste? Or she just had a hard time in finding things that could pique her interest. It didn't help that she had always been bitter about love matters, too.

But of course, she had to do her best for these two friends she had known since high school.

"Uh, nope," Maki replied.

_Genius_.

"So it's only Rin… errr but what about when you're around your other friends, nya?" Rin asked, "That bartender… Eli-chan, right? Or Umi-chan the novelist, nya? Aren't they your good friends?"

Umi? Eli?

Dear _God_, if she could pick anyone she'd feel all fluttery for, she'd rather fall in love with a tomato than with those two.

"Rin. No, just no," Maki made an 'X' with her arms, showing utter disapproval while scrunching up her nose in slight irritation, "Umi's not all that cool and composed—if that's how you see her but big chances you see her as that kind of person. She's a nervous wreck and her anxiety gets out of hand in the smallest of crowds. And Eli… well she's just… Eli. All awkward and pretty unapproachable for a bartender even though she's a good listener. I'm just… not interested, you see?"

"Really? Not even for a bit, nya?" Rin inquired further.

"I _love_ them, but it's entirely platonic," Maki concluded, sipping her coffee, "Seriously though, if you like her, wouldn't it be better to just come up and confess? I know it's not as simple as it sounds, but it's Hanayo we're talking about—you guys have been friends since forever."

"That's why Rin's afraid, nya!" Rin pointed at Maki, worried look flashing on her face, "Rin doesn't want Kayochin to distance herself, nya! Rin didn't even want to admit that Rin loves Kayochin that way, nya… but… but… maybe it can't be helped, nya. Rin worries that Kayochin doesn't feel the same, Maki-chan."

"Is it really necessary for her to feel the same way?" Maki pushed Rin's hand gently, resting it on the table, "Is it?"

"N-Nya…" Rin looked down to the floor, cheeks flushed in embarrassment over bursting out all her feelings to the only other individual she could trust, "… But Rin doesn't want Kayochin to accept Rin's feelings out of pity, nya…"

"Rin, Hanayo will respect your feelings. You should have known better," Maki said, glancing outside to see the person on topic still busy on the phone, "If she doesn't like you that way, she'd say it. If she does… well wouldn't it be wonderful? Come on, your friendship's way stronger that little problems like these won't even cause the tiniest crack."

"Easier said than done, nya," Rin puffed one of her cheeks—it would seem that she had finally loosened up.

"_Nobody_ said that it's easy, you idiot," Maki placed a hand on her forehead, "Well whatever it is, I'm gonna have your back, okay? I'll support you both. Always."

And there it goes—silence. It wasn't like Maki was expecting some sort of embarrassing gratitude from the cat-themed girl, but at the very least Rin could have said something. She didn't bother looking up until the situation forced her head to move upwards, violet lenses meeting shining yellow ones. Rin seemed far happier than she had thought—and it was confusing her; did those words really have such an impact? Confusing, yet relieving at the same time. Rin raised her fist up, slowly pointing it towards Maki's shocked face, "Fist-bump, Maki-chan nya!"

Little motions like these made her feel somewhat… happy. Rin actually _remembered_. She remembered how the two of them would do fist-bumps every now and then when they agreed on something, or as a replacement for the unsaid embarrassing words. Maki chuckled softly as she bumped her fist with Rin's, "Yeah. Fist-bump."

She was rather thankful that Hanayo returned right after their conversation ended. As Hanayo got back to her seat, Rin suddenly threw her arms around her best friend's hips, nuzzling their cheeks together. What an irony that Rin disliked cats—she definitely acted like one without being the least bit pretentious. Though that moment—that brief moment, Maki was glad she had paid attention to Hanayo's reaction. During their past days in high school, Hanayo would just respond with a more affectionate gesture, but this time… she could see how the soft-spoken woman was all too flustered to do anything other than returning the hug. She probably had started to take a liking to the two's interactions, thanks to how _obvious_ everything was to her.

… Rin's worries really shouldn't even be there to begin with.

* * *

Maki strolled down the small road, sounds of her own footsteps echoing throughout the area. It was quiet—as always, she wondered why Eli made a bar in a place where there were less people. It was _Akihabara,_ for God's sake. The bar might explain much about its owner though—Eli never could socialize well with people despite the fact that people would like to know her, so she probably was better off not having way too many people in her place.

She turned the doorknob of the familiar building in front of her, blowing the smoke off her mouth as she put the cigarette away—greeting with a cold voice, "Evening."

"Maki!" Eli waved from behind the bar, her usual spot. She was about to wave back before a woman stepped in front of her—dark purple filling her vision when she looked at the cloaked figure. It wasn't hard to identify that it was a woman—her features showed as much; her chest, in particular.

The woman smiled at her, raising her hood up a little to give Maki a proper look. The green lenses that met her violet ones were piercing, yet calming at the same time. Piercing, because she felt as if said woman was looking through her right into her very soul. At this second, Maki already knew that it was the fortuneteller Eli was blabbering about so much yesterday. And she kind of hated to admit it, but everything Eli had said finally made sense to her. Eli might be awkward, but damn, her taste always topped hers and Umi's.

"I'll come back again tomorrow, Elicchi. Thanks for today," the woman peered over her shoulder, her smile seemed softer—or maybe it was just her eyes fooling her.

Yeah, probably just her eyes because she had secretly taken a liking to the idea of these two being together.

"Sure. See you tomorrow, Nozomi!" Eli nodded eagerly—she couldn't have been more obvious on her crush.

Nozomi chuckled at Eli's childlike response, turning back to Maki as she motioned to excuse herself, "Good evening, doctor."

"Oh, evening… eh hold on, what the—?" before the redhead could process the words in her head, Nozomi had already made her way to wherever she was heading off to. Her figure slowly vanished from sight, as if becoming one with the shadows thanks to the dark cloak. The dim streetlights could still make out a faint silhouette, though Maki saw no point in watching someone she found a bit too… strange. As she walked further inside, she turned her attention to Eli, sitting on her usual stool while shrugging off her jacket, "How did she know I'm a doctor? Did you tell her?"

"Nope…?" Eli raised an eyebrow, looking about as confused as Maki was, "She just knew, I think. Fortunetellers are mysterious people, after all."

"Huh. Either way, you have a good taste there…" Maki stretched her arms, putting the already-short cigarette back between her lips that were grinning slightly, "… Elicchi."

"Shut up, you," Eli threw a handkerchief at Maki's face, and in a split second, Maki slapped it away. It was good to see that the young doctor's reflexes were as good as ever even though she would always complain about how sore her muscles were from doing all the paperwork back at the hospital. Placing a small glass of Vodka—Maki's usual order in front of her, Eli leaned over and checked to see if there were other people around, "You know I don't want other people to know my given name."

Maki rolled her eyes, putting out her cigarette before bringing the glass up to her lips, "Yeah? Don't tell me you gave away your name to this… Nozomi just because she's hot."

"She's _different,_ Maki. It's like she didn't even have to try," Eli sighed, "And I like her not just because she's uhh… hot? Honestly I'd rather refer to her as gorgeous instead of something like that. I like her looks, but it's not just that. You have to talk to her to know her well."

"Yeah, right. Like _you_ can keep up with her for more than ten minutes," Maki took a sip, "I don't know. She actually came off as mischievous to me, so if she was just messing around with you, she's got a hella pissed off neurosurgeon here."

Eli giggled at Maki's protective side that she had rarely seen, "Not that I'm expecting much. This isn't something as simple as a crush, but I think it'll be temporary so I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts."

"… You sound like you're just making excuses," Maki shook her head slowly, about to light another cigarette but stopped halfway when she saw the front door open, "Oh, hey Ms. Traditional Romance."

"Maki…" Umi frowned slightly at how Maki referred to her as—she wasn't _that _traditional, please, "… Don't tell me you're having a bad day again."

"Come on. As if you don't know her _at all_, Umi," Eli said, "By the way, Arisa got me high-quality milk earlier. You should taste it!"

"Sure," Umi sat right next to Maki, who immediately put her cigarette pack back in her pocket, "It's alright. It's not like I'm completely prohibiting you to smoke."

"I just pulled it out because it's my habit—not that I had a really stressful day or what," Maki pinched the bridge of her nose, "Today was actually an okay-day."

"An okay-day," Eli and Umi repeated in unison.

Seeing her friends' reaction, Maki shrugged her shoulders casually, "Well, yeah. I got to meet my best friends from high school—you guys know Hanayo and Rin from the New Years' party."

"Oh! The cute shy girl and the catwoman! I remember them," Eli nodded, "How are they?"

"Cat… woman…" Umi was definitely holding back a laugh, though she was probably trying to keep her cool as always.

Catwoman. Right.

At least it made more sense to Maki than she had thought it would, "They're good. They have a restaurant of their own now. Hanayo handles the cooking and Rin manages the delivery. They're both diligent, as far as I can remember—business going smoothly and all. I feel really happy for them. End of the story. How about the two of you?"

"They'd make a good couple… sounds like it, eh? They were totally clinging to each other during that party back then," Eli made a thoughtful look. Maki wanted to say something about it, though she chose to stay quiet because she knew Rin would want her to keep it a secret between them, "Anyways, I had small chats with Nozomi. Like, really small. She's a fortuneteller, but people rarely come to her to ask for any readings. She knows a lot of things—which is _very_ attractive. All in all, it was really fun to talk to her. I just need to do something about my silly shyness."

"Huh okay, cool," Maki commented. Good, seems like Eli knew that she was genuinely bothered by how much she talked about that woman yesterday. Another good thing is, now Maki could be in peace knowing that Nozomi really _did_ exist, "By the way, did you meet that girl again, Umi?"

"I caught a glimpse," Umi sighed as she stared into the cup filled with hot milk in front of her, "She looked very busy and just as hurried as she was yesterday."

"Try catching up to her next time!" Eli smiled, "Like, you know, make it look as if you coincidentally crossed paths again with her."

"Or you can just offer your help with anything. You said she was carrying a whole truckload of tailoring shit, right?" Maki raised an eyebrow.

"Tailoring _stuff, _Nishikino Maki. But yes," Umi blew into the surface of the hot milk, blinking when the heat from the puffing smoke came up to her eyes, "You guys are putting it as if I'm interested in her."

"… You're not?" Eli and Maki looked at each other.

"I don't think so…?" Umi was equally confused.

Well that's Umi for you. Maybe deep down, they would even be more surprised if Umi had really fallen for someone so easily. But it was so rare to hear her saying that a certain someone is cute! It would surely be fun to witness her being all flustered around the tailor—they knew that Umi had this little weak side for things she considered as cute. It was always worth a chuckle or two.

"Then Maki… how's your idol?" Umi placed her cup back down, watching calmly as Maki shot her a glare.

"None of your business," she tried to make it obvious that she didn't want to say anything about it—she wondered why, though.

Eli snapped her fingers, getting her younger friends to look at her, "Oh, I remember now! She's going on a hiatus, right? It was on the news Arisa watched sometime ago."

That felt like a hard slap on Maki's face, honestly. She didn't even understand how she could feel a slight pain in her chest, like something pressed itself on her heart. Funny; a doctor who couldn't explain the small pain that wasn't even supposed to be recognizable. Or was she just avoiding it all along? Umi had told her not to keep things bottled up and all, yet how could she tell anyone when she herself didn't know what was going on?

"She's not retiring so it's not all that bad."

Wait…

… Did she just try to convince herself out loud?

"So the scarlet princess is willing to wait for her pink knight to return," Umi smiled—as irritating as it sounded, coming from someone who barely joked around, Maki found an odd comfort in that smile, "I hope she'll be back soon."

"Scarlet princess actually sounds badass," Eli said, "But yeah, she should come back soon and spread that 'Nico Nico Nii' thingy again. It really looked like it had an effect on you."

"It did _not_ have any effect," Maki grunted.

"Don't even deny it, Maki. We can see right through you," Umi's smile stayed there—which somehow ticked Maki to no end.

"My, my, she's going to explode soon," Eli laughed as she refilled Maki's empty glass—it was better than risking the glass being crushed in her junior's hand, "There you go, princess."

"For the love of God, shut up and let's just get on with it," Maki downed the alcoholic liquid in less than a second, "I have no interest whatsoever in that idol!"

Nice try. She knew her two friends would just brush it off easily; she had no other excuses regarding her stupid attraction for this 'pink knight'. How hypocritical of her, remembering what she had said to Umi and Eli yesterday—she was even _worse _than them, wasn't she? Not even once had she met the idol in person. All it took was just a peek of the interview and that infuriating catchphrase and bam, all her denial vanished in an instant.

It was still too embarrassing to admit, but seeing how obvious it was for her seniors… she most likely wouldn't get any over-the-top reactions; which she would be thankful of, since there would be less shame to handle. She might have surrounded herself with people who could keep their cool, but she had found out a long time ago that the exact same people could turn to be the worst of teases. Keeping her guard up wouldn't hurt at all. She should start jotting down whatever excuse that came up in her head so she could use them later.

"You know, Maki?" Eli smiled at her, giving another refill—one more time and it would be her last refill, "Everyone has the right to fall in love. No one's going to blame you if you got a crush on that idol."

"Crush, infatuation, love—whichever it is…" Umi trailed off as she took a sip from her cup, "… The feeling is yours. It's all up to you about what to do with it. We're not going to interfere, but I do advise you to cherish it."

"It's a wonderful feeling," the blonde's smile had turned into a grin by now—and Maki knew she was up to no good, "Our little Maki-chan's grown up now."

"D-Don't treat me as if I'm a kid! And sheesh, you guys are so boring—talking about love and all!" Maki scratched her head before laying it flat on the table's surface, sighing out her frustration without a care about her messy hair—not that she had ever been particularly conscious about her appearance, anyway, "… But thanks a bunch… f-for telling me all that stuff."

The only things she heard were just giggles and Umi's small 'you're welcome'. It was never a bad choice to come here, especially during times when she felt like utter shit. This bar was one of the very, _very_ few places where she could feel at home—even Eli had told her that she could have a sleepover anytime. She didn't know when or how, but the bond between the three of them had grown into something family-like. Umi was the most reliable, yet Eli was by far the most level-headed. And Maki was like the youngest child who had the freedom to voice out her thoughts without any worries.

Perhaps anywhere could be her second home… as long as she had her two companions with her.

* * *

It had been a long while since the last time she took a stroll around the entire hospital for the sake of patrolling and doing some inspections. She wasn't bored at all—if she were, she would rather sleep her day off in her office. This was the only way she could get her mind off things—from what, she pretended not to be aware of it. One could say she was just avoiding the idiotic, repetitive confessions because her co-workers would _know_ that she was in her office most of the time. Of course, she had expected to see several damned love letters that were slipped under the small gap between the door and the floor, but at least she didn't have to say anything about the direct confessions.

Twirling an unlit cigarette between her fingers, Maki continued walking down the corridors that had fewer people—almost none at all save for the janitor and random patients. The rooms were mostly empty… she wondered why her father had refused the idea of completely abandoning this part of the hospital. It was so quiet to the point she could hear the tapping of her footsteps. Would the corridors actually serve any purpose other than providing silence?

And it wasn't long before she realized the reason. She stopped in front a locked room; entirely white with huge, tall windows with only one thing standing out in the middle of it.

A grand piano.

_"This is your personal space, Maki. You have all the things you need here! Santa-san got all these for you. Play here until Papa's done with work, okay?"_

She smiled at the memory, tracing her fingers on the door's surprisingly dustless small window, "Santa-san really was nice, Papa…"

Her lips twitched, barely holding the smile.

"… But he never came back ever since you left for a better place," and soon enough, the smile was no longer there. Her memories started to refresh, recalling all the times she would let her tiny fingers press the wooden keys of the instrument, playing for and with no one but herself. Those days were like dreams to her—like she had only been imagining everything… though the yellowed music sheets in her desk's drawer back at home proved to her that it was all real.

Where had her dreams gone to?

Before she could brainstorm for the answer—and most likely stressing the heck out of herself even more in the process—her phone vibrated in her pocket. She took out the device and unlocked it, staring at the notification of a new message. That was rare. The people she knew would rather call her instead. Maybe it wasn't very urgent? Checking her inbox, she quickly opened the message after seeing who it was from: Rin.

_Maki-chan, nya!_

_Rin… Rin is nervous, nya. ;w; Kayochin asked Rin out for a lil' walk around the shopping district later tonight, nya. And for some reason, Kayochin looks even cuter than usual today! OAO_

_Wh-what should Rin do, nya? ;w; Answer pls._

Goddammit, Rin. It was one hell of a wrong move to run to Nishikino _freaking_ Maki if she needed advice about things like these! … Or so she thought as she typed her reply and hit 'send'.

_Rin. Calm down. Just act natural and be casual. It's not like she asked you out on a date or anything. You guys have been sticking together for years, omg. Nothing's gonna look weird._

Yeah like that would make the situation any better. Maki pressed her phone to her forehead, letting the words go around and around in her head until she realized just how _pointless_ her advice sounded. Well if she was Rin, she would have come up to the only person that knew about her secret, too—she was glad that the orange-haired girl trusted her this much but… but of all things, _this_?

The phone vibrated again and in a split second, she had gone through Rin's short reply.

_K, nya! R-Rin will try that, nya! OwO"_

… Honestly? She didn't even have to try. Maki only sighed at the response and stuffed her phone back into her pocket, continuing to saunter down the seemingly endless halls. She was wandering around aimlessly, like she usually would when she was little. Aimless, she thought, but she ended up heading towards the reception desk, where there were more people; patients and visitors alike. While she was at it, she thought it would be best to check on the list of patients as she approached the nurse in charge.

"Konoe-san," Maki called out to the nurse as the sleepy-eyed lady turned to her, "Can you please give me the recent list of patients?"

"Oh, of course. Please wait for a second, Nishikino-san," the brown-haired nurse quickly searched through a folder, skilled fingertips going through the papers. Well, at least now the nurse wasn't slacking off—Maki had received complaints from visitors and patients about how the lady would doze off very often during her shift, involuntarily abandoning her duties.

She waited patiently, tapping her finger on the desk's wooden surface as she eavesdropped on a conversation of two passersby.

"—broken leg and arm. Also a slight brain damage. The poor thing was too small to handle the weight," a man's voice said.

"Yeah but it was a pretty swift treatment, wasn't it? As expected from the best private hospital around…" another man's voice—sounded younger than the other one, responded.

Maki sighed, dismissing the rest of the talk since she wasn't interested at all. Slight brain damage… she should have heard about whoever's case that was beforehand. Curious she might be, but she ignored the thoughts for the time being. Before she knew it, the nurse had returned with a piece of paper in her hand, placing it on top of the desk, "Here you go, Nishikino-san. I will hand you the copy if you'd like to take it to your office."

"Thanks, but I just want to do a quick check," Maki took a closer look at the paper. She scanned through the names—not a lot of people. That was a good sign, because work would be far more difficult and complicated if there were more patients. There was also the fact that there were less major accidents and less sick people. The number had decreased significantly from last month—she couldn't be more relieved.

But the name of a _very_ recent patient had taken her attention—not in a good way.

"This… this person…" Maki trailed off her words, placing the paper back on the desk to let her acquaintance have a good look at the name, "… what happened?"

"Oh, she was brought here yesterday with an ambulance—my friends from the night shift have been talking about her, too. They said it was a big accident since she was taken to the ICU immediately," the nurse placed a finger on her chin, "It caused quite a commotion yesterday—even until this morning. The staff took care of it, though—Nishikino-san?"

"… I didn't know about this…" Maki murmured, violet orbs shrinking in disbelief.

"It was very late at night and your shift had ended hours before, I believe. Also, her leg and arm were broken. The brain damage wasn't severe, they said, but she needed immediate treatment," Maki clenched her fists as she listened to the nurse even more, "Apparently, one of her fans went utterly furious after hearing the upsetting news of her hiatus. During the meet and greet she held last night, he went up to the stage, violently pushed her until she tripped on several cables, and because of that… a set of stage lamps fell on her."

"Dammit…" Maki hissed, almost slamming her fist on the desk—she couldn't let her emotions get to her. She couldn't. She _shouldn't_.

"Umm… do you by any chance know her personally?" the lady was concerned by now even though she couldn't get a good look at Maki's face, "I-If that's the case, she regained consciousness earlier this morning. Although she may have to rest for a few days straight, it's certain that she's completely fine—ah!"

And there she went. Nishikino Maki rushed off to the distance—to the room where _that person _would be. She didn't know why, and she didn't give a damn about all the other doctors and nurses she had crashed into on her way. Even if her legs had started to hurt from running up several sets of stairs, she continued dashing, running in a speed that could probably outmatch that of Rin's. She had to witness it on her own.

For the sake of confirming that it was all just a dream. A terrible dream.

All for someone that didn't even know she existed.

* * *

Back at the reception desk, a bewildered nurse stayed in her post with a piece of paper in front of her, completely abandoned. The names of people who met an unfortunate fate were written on the sheet, sorted based on the time they were taken into the hospital. The last name on the list seemed as if it was added not too long ago, as if the ink was yet to dry despite the list being updated as soon as there was a new patient; a name that wasn't unfamiliar to everyone—a name that would have brought a little _smile_ on most people's face at the simple mention of it.

_Yazawa Nico._

* * *

**A/N : **Nico-nii hang in there your guardian angel is coming soon.

This isn't tragedy, don't worry; it's supposed to be a light-hearted fic, even. I just can't help myself from inserting silly drama every now and then. Oh well, your usual bickering NicoMaki is in part 2.

Reviews are very appreciated!


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